This invention relates to pipe connector devices and, more particularly to pipe connector devices for use in temporary and quasi-permanent pipe flowlines.
Temporary and permanent flowlines are commonly used in production, drilling, cementing, and testing of oil and gas wells. Flexible devices with quick connections at the ends provide quick and convenient layout of the piping system and provide fluid tight seals between mating pipe element members. Commonly used flexible devices are swivel joints, hoses, composite structure pipe, and ball joints.
Swivel joints often involve the joining of two components having complementary male and a female hubs which interfit to form a seal while allowing rotational freedom. The two components must provide a tight seal that is capable of withstanding high pressures under harsh environmental conditions while enabling freedom of movement. Ordinarily, some type of sealing and load bearing elements are provided between the two joined components. Segmented load assemblies, sold under the trademark DYNETOR, provide a locking mechanism and sere as an axial bearing between male and female hub elements of a swivel joint. Such segmented load assemblies can be easily installed through a port in the body of one of the joined components. To facilitate this type of installation, the segments are flexibly joined, forming an assembly, so that they can be easily handled and will not be lost or miscounted.
At least one prior art device, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,927,192, utilizes a flexible ribbon to join segments in a load-bearing device for use in a flexible coupling. This design has several drawbacks. First, the cross-sectional profile of the ribbon does not allow free relative rotation between the segments and the ribbon so that during installation, removal, and other handling, incidental rotation of segments causes the ribbon to twist, limiting the freedom of rotation between segments and applying forces that may damage or tear the ribbon. Second, since the segmented load-bearing device is removed from the coupling by pulling on the ribbon, the ribbon needs to have significant tensile strength in order to pull the entire segmented device out in one piece. The cross-sectional profile of the ribbon greatly limits tensile strength.